TY - JOUR
T1 - Patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction during pain clinic consultations
AU - Walsh, Sarah
AU - O’Neill, Aoife
AU - Hannigan, Ailish
AU - Harmon, Dominic
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.
PY - 2019/11/1
Y1 - 2019/11/1
N2 - Background: Little is known about the influence of patient-perceived healthcare provider empathy on patient satisfaction in the setting of a hospital pain clinic consultation. The objective of this research was to examine the relationship between patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction after a single new pain clinic consultation. Methods: After institutional ethics committee approval, a sample of 140 adult patients completed a two-page questionnaire, directly after a pain clinic consultation. This included a brief sociodemographic questionnaire, the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure and an overall satisfaction rating. Results: The sample, N = 140 patients, was balanced for gender and 80% of participants ranged in age from 30 to 70. Of these patients, 80.7% had been living with chronic pain between 1 and 5 years. The data were deemed to be non-parametric and a Spearman’s ranked order correlation analysis yielded a strong positive correlation between patient-rated physician empathy and patient consultation satisfaction. Conclusion: Patient-rated physician empathy was strongly correlated with patient satisfaction in a pain clinic consultation. Patient satisfaction plays a significant role in adherence to treatment and contributes to a positive working patient-physician therapeutic relationship. This research supports the growing body of research citing the importance of investing in, promoting and developing educational programs for physicians and medical trainees to enhance empathic communication skills within the clinical setting.
AB - Background: Little is known about the influence of patient-perceived healthcare provider empathy on patient satisfaction in the setting of a hospital pain clinic consultation. The objective of this research was to examine the relationship between patient-rated physician empathy and patient satisfaction after a single new pain clinic consultation. Methods: After institutional ethics committee approval, a sample of 140 adult patients completed a two-page questionnaire, directly after a pain clinic consultation. This included a brief sociodemographic questionnaire, the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure and an overall satisfaction rating. Results: The sample, N = 140 patients, was balanced for gender and 80% of participants ranged in age from 30 to 70. Of these patients, 80.7% had been living with chronic pain between 1 and 5 years. The data were deemed to be non-parametric and a Spearman’s ranked order correlation analysis yielded a strong positive correlation between patient-rated physician empathy and patient consultation satisfaction. Conclusion: Patient-rated physician empathy was strongly correlated with patient satisfaction in a pain clinic consultation. Patient satisfaction plays a significant role in adherence to treatment and contributes to a positive working patient-physician therapeutic relationship. This research supports the growing body of research citing the importance of investing in, promoting and developing educational programs for physicians and medical trainees to enhance empathic communication skills within the clinical setting.
KW - Communication
KW - Empathy
KW - Pain clinic
KW - Patient satisfaction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074182110&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11845-019-01999-5
DO - 10.1007/s11845-019-01999-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 30919198
AN - SCOPUS:85074182110
SN - 0021-1265
VL - 188
SP - 1379
EP - 1384
JO - Irish Journal of Medical Science
JF - Irish Journal of Medical Science
IS - 4
ER -